“I can give you a chance, yes,” said Blair. “But only if you both from now on treat Luke the way you should have done from the start.” That was a deal breaker for her.
“You have my solemn promise that things will be different from here on out,” said Les, his face sober.
“You have that same promise from me,” said Noelle. “What about you, Luke? Can you agree for us to start afresh?”
Luke twisted his mouth, reluctantly impressed. He hadn’t expected either Noelle or Les to be so open and fully own their shit. It was never easy for a person to admit to their mistakes, let alone explain their reasoning—especially for dominant shifters, who were naturally proud creatures. It was far easier to just say a short, simple “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again” and then move on.
But the couple opposite Luke hadn’t gone down that road. They’d confessed their fears and shame and guilt. They’d given their daughter the apology she deserved. While his cat—seemingly determined to hold a grudge—was completely unmoved, Luke could respect that.
Not that he suddenly had a newfound respect for them. He wasn’t quite ready to forgive them for all they’d done, or ready to trust them not to fall back into their old patterns at some point. But … “I can agree to a fresh start. However, let it be known that if either of you ever cause Blair any more pain, there’ll be no more chances. I want Blair to have you both in her life, but not at her detriment.”
“You’d cut us out of the picture if we hurt her again?” asked Noelle, her tone even.
Luke met her gaze head-on. “In a fucking heartbeat.”
One side of her mouth curved. “Good.”
Well, all right then.
A silence tinged with relief settled over the table.
“Thank you both for being willing to give us another shot,” said Les.
Noelle dipped her chin. “It won’t be something we make you regret.” She reached out and touched Blair’s hand. “I’ve missed you.” Her voice broke. “I thought about visiting you a million times but could never quite muster the courage. I even almost attended the welcoming party that the Olympus … that your pride threw for you. I was going to apologize then but, again, my courage failed me.”
Les cocked his head at Blair. “How is life at the Olympus Pride?”
As the conversation moved onto lighter things, Luke kept his contribution minimal. Not in a gesture of rudeness, but because he was busy observing the bush dogs sitting opposite him. Despite that he believed their apologies were genuine, it was difficult to digest that finally—after all these years—they’d decided to buck the hell up.
It didn’t particularly surprise him that they had, though. Not when the alternative would have been something they couldn’t handle. Still, after so long of having them treat him like an unwanted guest, it wasn’t easy to settle into the new dynamic—one in which they smiled at him, asked him questions, didn’t snark at or pointedly ignore him.
No one raised the subject of Blair’s stalker, as if determined not to taint the conversation. They kept it light and casual. And when it came time for him and Blair to leave, her parents were sure to not only give her a hug but to shake Luke’s hand. Huh. His cat haughtily sniffed at the gesture.
“Perhaps you two could come visit us sometimes soon?” asked Noelle.
Uh, that was a hard no. “I’m not comfortable with Blair being on Sylvan territory right now.”
Donal, who’d just approached with Antoine, asked, “You still believe the person harassing her is one of us?” His voice was carefully even.
“I believe it’s very possible, yes, and I don’t intend to take any chances,” replied Luke, unapologetic, before turning back to Blair’s parents. “You’re welcome to visit us anytime.” Well … maybe not necessarily welcome, but he’d tolerate it.
Noelle’s mouth curved. “That would be nice, thank you.”
Look at them being all civil and shit.
The six of them exited the coffeehouse, where they then parted ways. Luke’s cat settled slightly once Donal and Antoine were away from Blair, but he’d be nothing close to relaxed until she was back in their domain.
Opening the SUV’s front passenger door for her, Luke heard his name being called. He turned to see Antoine jogging toward them, and it wasn’t easy to stop his mouth from tightening.
Antoine stopped a few feet away, his gaze on Luke. “Embry said you spoke with Gabriel again. You consider him your main suspect?”
“I consider him a suspect,” replied Luke, gently ushering his mate into the SUV, grateful she didn’t resist. “Then again, the background check that my pride mate did on Gabriel didn’t come up with anything alarming.”
“Background check?” Antoine echoed.
“It was very thorough.” Luke closed the SUV door. “As were the checks that were done on my other suspects.” Let the Head Enforcer make what he would of that.